Wood Density Chart

A Chart of the Density of Wood Species

I have included several familiar woods that probably will never be used in banjo making for the sake of comparison. I have also included domestic and exotic woods that could be or have been used for banjo making. The species in bold are ones I have used for making rims.

The following is a wood density chart compiled from several different sources. In the metric system "kg/cu.m" is kilograms per cubic meter. A cubic meter of water is 1,000 kg. Therefore woods that are less than 1,000 kg/cu.m will float whereas over 1,000 kg/cu.m wood will sink.

Species

kg/cu.m

Balsa 170
Pine 360
Red Cedar 380
Poplar 420
Willow 420
Redwood 450
Sitka Spruce 450
Cherry 510
Cypress 510
Soft Maple 540
Honduras Mahogany 550
Walnut 560
Sycamore 590
Elm 600
Beech 640
African Mahogany 650
Oak 650
Ash 670
Birch 670
Hard Maple 710
Padauk 730
Purple Heart 740
Teak 750
Bolivian Rosewood 760
East Indian Rosewood 780
Brazillian Rosewood 800
Ebony 960
African Blackwood 1100
Cocobolo 1150
Lignum Vitae 1280
Iron Wood 1300